Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between biology laboratory technicians and biology laboratory assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a biology laboratory technician and a biology laboratory assistant. Additionally, a biology laboratory technician has an average salary of $38,514, which is higher than the $34,240 average annual salary of a biology laboratory assistant.
The top three skills for a biology laboratory technician include lab equipment, molecular biology and chemistry. The most important skills for a biology laboratory assistant are lab equipment, biology laboratory, and chemistry.
| Biology Laboratory Technician | Biology Laboratory Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $38,514 | $34,240 |
| Hourly rate | $18.52 | $16.46 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 45,470 | 48,958 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A biological technician assists medical and biological scientists in conducting laboratory experiments and tests. As a biological technician, you will perform a variety of tasks that include setting up, maintaining, and cleaning laboratory equipment and instruments such as test tubes and microscopes, collecting and preparing biological samples, and analyzing experimental data, and interpreting results. In addition, you will assist medical scientists by administering new treatments and medicines to laboratory animals. You will also perform different techniques such as specimen staining to aid identification.
A biology laboratory assistant is in charge of assisting scientists or researchers and performing laboratory support tasks on a daily basis. Their responsibilities include setting up and sanitizing equipment, preparing samples, maintaining documentation of all experiments and procedures, writing laboratory reports, and running errands as needed. There are also instances where they must update databases, answer calls and correspondence, and grade student papers. Furthermore, a biology laboratory assistant must maintain the cleanliness of laboratories, all while implementing its policies and regulations.
Biology laboratory technicians and biology laboratory assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Biology Laboratory Technician | Biology Laboratory Assistant | |
| Average salary | $38,514 | $34,240 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $50,000 | Between $22,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | South San Francisco, CA | Bridgewater, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | University of California | Massachusetts General Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Government |
There are a few differences between a biology laboratory technician and a biology laboratory assistant in terms of educational background:
| Biology Laboratory Technician | Biology Laboratory Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Biology | Biology |
| Most common college | Cornell University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between biology laboratory technicians' and biology laboratory assistants' demographics:
| Biology Laboratory Technician | Biology Laboratory Assistant | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4% | Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 12.7% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 14.9% White, 50.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |